Improving higher education practice through student evaluation systems: is the student voice being heard?

Blair, Erik; Noel, Keisha Valdez

doi:10.1080/02602938.2013.875984

Cited by 93 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…When provoked to describe their emotions on the day when they started interacting with the study subjects and the ones after completing the investigation, the students have admitted to take part of a unique experience, and at the end of it, they stated a strong feeling of satisfaction, convinced that in the future they will be able to manage professional challenges with more ease. The students voices, as future professionals, were heard (Blair & Valdez Noel, 2014) in the conception of the media content when they carried out discussions with the other colleagues and learned from each other"s experiences, but also by finalizing publishable journalistic investigations. Remarkable here is the professional power, concept utilised by Bundy-Fazioli, Quijano & Bubar (2013) as a functional element in practical educational activities, facilitating forming necessary abilities for students wanting to work as journalists in the future.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Included and excluded Young journalists and the begging phenomenon in Timisoara

Szabo

Petrovici

2017

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This study is structured on two levels, because it aims for two combined goals. On the first level we find the scientific description and significance of an educational activity, since the students have been instructed to collect information and to redact a communication product as similar as possible to a journalistic investigation. The theme was the following: how much do beggars in Timisoara earn. On the same axis, students were encouraged to use their own electronic equipment (digital mobile phones, tablets, laptops, video recorders). On the second level we find the selection of relevant information about the beggars' situation in Timisoara, about their incomes and also about their specific and individual situation. Special attention was given to the communication texts used by the beggars to interact with potential donors, thus fulfilling various objectives: 1) students had the opportunity to act as real professional journalists and to produce communication products publishable by any respectable editorial; 2) a practical didactic activity with results rating much higher than the ones currently being lectured; 3) a closely real image of begging activities in Timisoara, accomplished with diverse but convergent approaches.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Included and excluded Young journalists and the begging phenomenon in Timisoara

Szabo

Petrovici

2017

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“…There is little evidence that evaluation systems that are focused solely on student expectations and teacher performance (absolutist) will lead to changes in teaching or learning practice (Blair and Valdez Noel 2014). Indeed, one of the issues with the use of data from such systems is that they are 'frequently the subject of unwarranted interpretations based on assumed levels of precision that they do not possess' (Boysen et al 2013, 1).…”

Section: Teaching and Learning In Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The importance of feedback and evaluation on learning and teaching experiences in higher education is well supported (Blair and Valdez Noel 2014;Cathcart, Greer, and Neale 2013;Nygaard and Belluigi 2011). What is not so clear is how, by whom and for what purposes such evaluations should be undertaken (Boysen et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Framing student evaluations of university learning and teaching: discursive strategies and textual outcomes

Ryan

2014

Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education

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Evaluation in higher education is an evolving social practice; that is, it involves what people, institutions and broader systems do and say, how they do and say it, what they value, the effects of these practices and values, and how meanings are ascribed. The textual products (verbal, written, visual and gestural) that inform and are produced by, for and through evaluative practices are important, as they promulgate particular kinds of meanings and values in specific contexts. This paper reports on an exploratory study that sought to investigate, using discourse analysis, the types of evaluative practices that were ascribed value, and the student responses that ensued, in different evaluative instruments. Findings indicate that when a reflective approach is taken to evaluation, students' responses are more considered, they interrogate their own engagement in the learning context and they are more likely to demonstrate reconstructive thought. These findings have implications for reframing evaluation as reflective learning.

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“…Bloxham & Boyd (2007) and Rudduck (2007) posit that since students play a critical role in the judgement process and in the advancement of knowledge, it would be insensitive to view them as merely recipients of wisdom. By interrogating students on quality of their learning experiences, Blair & Noel (2014) found that students were able to point out areas needing improvement and to suggest ways to rectify the problems. Levin (2000) avers that students are best placed to utilise their experiences in identifying what motivates them and proffer their opinions on the quality of social services and university resource provision.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Involving Students in Managing the Quality of Higher Education Provision

Garwe¹

2015

Journal of Education and Training Studies

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This study was aimed at exploring the power of student involvement in improving quality of higher educational provision in private higher education instititions in Zimbabwe. A longitudinal approach involving two separate surveys and covering a period of three years was used. A preliminary survey aimed at assessing the issues that impact negatively on teaching and learning in five private universities was made from June 2011 to May 2012. In 2013, a follow-up survey was carried out to check whether the pertinent issues raised by students had been addressed promptly and adequately. Data collection included semi-structured self-administered questionnaires as well as focus group discussions with students and academic staff. The sample represented ten per cent of the enrolments of students at each university. The sample was representative of gender, study discipline and level of study. The issues that were prioritised as adversely affecting quality of teaching and learning were limited reading material; poorly qualified Lecturers; sub-standard teaching venues; inadequate assignments; part-time lecturers who abscond; sexual harassment and inadequate field trips and practical work. During the second survey, results showed that students were satisfied by the fact that all five higher education institutions had addressed most of the students' concerns. However, continued increase in student enrolments perpetuated the problem of poor teaching venues. Part time lecturers continued to contribute negatively to the quality of teaching and learning. The study points to the need to continuously involve students as an effective way of improving quality of educational provision.

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Improving higher education practice through student evaluation systems: is the student voice being heard?

Cited by 93 publications

References 31 publications

Included and excluded Young journalists and the begging phenomenon in Timisoara

Included and excluded Young journalists and the begging phenomenon in Timisoara

Framing student evaluations of university learning and teaching: discursive strategies and textual outcomes

The Impact of Involving Students in Managing the Quality of Higher Education Provision

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